The rise of home DIY is fueled by content creators who have their fingers on the pulse of do-it-yourself home design. From transparency about the DIY process to thrifty glow-up home tips and flashy before/after reveals, creators like Nicole Francis let their audience see the ‘not so glamorous’ and often bumpy road to the finish line.
DIY is the present and the future. So, it’s not a surprise that the number of DIY content creators and social media influencers is on the rise. One rising home DIY star, Nicole Francis, believes home is what you make it. The mompreneur and her husband Michael Francis empower homeowners to take their spaces from builder-grade to custom-made one DIY project at a time.
The business of DIY builder-grade to custom-made content creation
In January 2020, Nicole Francis turned her passion for DIY into a business, 1776 Faux Farmhouse – a content platform that follows Nicole and her husband Michael’s creative inclinations as they renovate and customize their builder-grade home. The duo spectacularly transformed a run-of-the-mill builder-grade house into a custom-made rustic farmhouse with a modern flair.
Starting a business and developing a brand is no easy feat. Growing it can be even more challenging. Initially, Nicole and Michael were not as DIY-savvy as they are now, particularly Michael who had zero experience with DIY home projects. However, Nicole was confident they could build their dream home independently with a few trials and errors, the right tools, patience, and self-efficacy. Their teamwork and ambition resulted in “1776 Faux Farmhouse.” The inspiration behind the brand name includes 1776, the initial street number of their home, and farmhouse-inspired living without technically being one, hence the “faux.”
Since the brand’s inception in 2020, Nicole’s social media growth and reach have steadily been on the rise. In the Fall of 2022, 1776 Faux Farmhouse hit 100,000 followers on Instagram and currently sits at 167,000 followers. Additionally, her Tik-Tok audience is comprised of 145,000 home DIY enthusiasts. Nicole says she enjoys the growth and has immense gratitude for her social media community where she gets to share her life, family, and home with like-minded people.
Like many content creators turned business owners, Nicole and Michael strive to make their brand more profitable. The 1776 Faux Farmhouse blog is a marketing channel (just like social media, direct mail, email marketing, etc.) that helps support their business growth. Couple that with a knack for consistently creating valuable content for their target audience, and the couple has quickly established their presence in the home DIY industry.
They are also constantly exploring ways to increase revenue. In addition to their primary source of income through collaborations and brand advertising; Nicole is focused on proven growth strategies.
“Many content creators we talk to in our space usually have anywhere from 50-70% of their revenue coming from this area, with the other portion coming from affiliate sales and their own products,” said Nicole. “We see continued growth in this area happening through bigger and bigger DIY projects and further audience growth,” she adds.
What does the future hold for 1776 Faux Farmhouse?
Nicole plans to continue doing what she loves and sharing it with others which includes DIY projects to improve her home while helping others transform their spaces. The talented DIYer also aspires to design a home for Utah Valley Parades of Homes, envisioning what would be a “dream-come-true moment.”
The elementary school educator turned mompreneur has incorporated an online learning product into the 1776 Faux Farmhouse brand vis-à-vis courses designed to help content creators grow their brand social media presence using analytics.
The growth of 1776 Faux Farmhouse demonstrates the scalability of niche content creation by passionate makers and creators. Undoubtedly, industry growth is not slowing down… and Nicole and Michael are making their mark in the space, one builder-grade to custom-made DIY project at a time.
© YFS Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Copying prohibited. All material is protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this material is prohibited. Sharing of this material under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International terms, listed here, is permitted.
In this article
